It's the beginning of a new chapter for the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. The organization is now responsible for caring for all stray animals collected in Birmingham and Jefferson County.

The Greater Birmingham Humane Society is full of animals that are waiting for a place to call home. Even more animals will be making their way to the facility now that the Humane Society is in charge of housing stray animals for the city and county.

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"We'll be able to provide a higher level of care for the animals at a lower cost to the taxpayers," according to Heather Taylor with the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.

The organization will also pick up stray dogs in Jefferson County, but not in the city limits of Birmingham. Workers hired by the city will handle that responsibility. However, the Humane Society will offer care to animals taken in from both the city and the county.

"We'll be working our new partnership with Alabama Shelter Veterinarians and Auburn University's School of Veterinary Medicine," Taylor adds.

Before being transported to the Humane Society's facility on Snow Drive, all stray animals will spend 7 days in the animal shelter located on 5th Avenue North in Birmingham. The animals will be eligible for adoption once they make their way to the Humane Society. The hope is to cut down on the number of animals that are euthanized.

"It's a sad reality that there will euthanasia, but we will do everything to lower that as much as possible," Taylor explains. "There will be transparency with our euthanasia rates where that was not the case before."

The community should also notice faster response times when it comes to stray animals being picked up. The Humane Society says all strays in the county should be picked up within 45 minutes of receiving a call.